Mar 28, 2025 , 12:41 PM
ELMONT, NEW YORK – APRIL 06: Mikhail Sergachev #98 of the Tampa Bay Lightning skates against the New York Islanders at the UBS Arena on April 06, 2023 in Elmont, New York. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
(Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
ALMA BEAN
TAMPA BAY, Florida – Mikhail Sergachev may no longer wear the Tampa Bay blue but fans still reminisce the days of Sergachev being their top defenseman.
On June 29, 2024, Sergachev became the centerpiece of a draft day trade to send him to Utah. This trade left many Lightning fans puzzled as Sergachev was entering year two of an eight-year extension. With a new franchise getting a strong veteran to lead their first defensive line, Lighting fans had no ill will against Sergachev with some even cheering him on in a new uniform.
🚨 BIG TRADE ALERT 🚨
Mikhail Sergachev is heading to Utah! pic.twitter.com/Q98gCu6qzo
— NHL (@NHL) June 29, 2024
During his time in Tampa Bay, Sergachev played 471 games, scored 48 goals, and tallied 209 assists along with two Stanley Cups delivered to the Lightning fans. After a gruesome injury during the playoff chase in the 2023-24 season that had Sergachev requiring surgery as he broke his fibula and tibia, Sergachev did return to the ice for Game 4 in the first round of the playoffs to get a win before being knocked out of the playoffs in the next game.
On February 7, 2024, the Tampa Bay Lighting traveled to Madison Square Garden to face the New York Rangers. This was Sergachev’s return to the team after missing 17 games due to a lower body injury. In the second period of Tampa’s 3-1 loss, Sergachev broke his fibula and tibia in his left leg. Sergachev would be taken off the ice on a stretcher and required surgery that evening in New York.
A post shared by Mikhail Sergachev (@sergach98)
Sergachev posted on his Instagram, “Oh man, why me? Why now? After all the games missed, coming back and getting injured again, feels unfair, feels terrible. Trying to stay calm and positive, but it’s impossible. I know I’ll come back stronger and I know I’ll play better than before, but it’s tough right now, and it’s [going to be] tough tomorrow. We all fight our battles and this is mine. I’ll win, [I] always do.”
Sergachev spent two months on LTIR before making a miraculous comeback to the Lighting during the Stanley Cup playoffs for Game 4 against the Florida Panthers. Tampa Bay would go onto win that game but be eliminated in the playoffs in their next meeting.
A post shared by Mikhail Sergachev (@sergach98)
Sergachev was traded to Utah for J.J Moser, Conor Geekie, a 2024 7nd round pick and a 2025 2th round pick.
Now by making his return to Amalie Arena, fans are reliving the glory days of Mikhail Sergachev.
Jon and Leigh Russell, Lightning fans since 2020, said that they travel to about 15 games a year and that Sergachev was one of the players that made them fans of the team.
Even resident Andrew Wright, who has been a fan of the team since 1992, stated that something he misses about the defenseman is, “when he scored, that smile could light up the dark side of the moon.”
In his short time in Utah, Sergachev has managed to set career-highs in goals (13), game-winning goals (3), overtime goals (2) and shooting percentage (11.6%). Though these numbers are great to see from a new fanbase, some Tampa fans stated that they were excited for his departure after a gruesome injury and a performance slump he had had before the injury because it meant a new beginning for the defenseman.
Reddit user f4steddy said, “While it was sad to see him go, I was also glad to see him get a fresh start and be adored by fans. I still have a really bad taste in my mouth about {Tampa Bay} fans after the way they treated him when he did nothing but give it {his} all on the ice.”
During Sergachev’s final season in Tampa Bay, Lighting fans let their opinions be known. Sergachev would eventually step away from social media and that’s when the injury bug struck.
Even with that turmoil, Lighting fan John Penn mentioned that it was Sergachev’s character that made them love him as a player. Penn said that after an Eastern Conference Finals loss in Game One, one fan had been waiting in the rain for an opportunity to meet Sergachev and was happy at the thought of seeing his car drive by. Sergachev happened to see the fan waiting to see him and stopped his vehicle not only to say hello to him but to get out of the car to sign his sweater and take a photo with this devoted fan.
As a part of Tampa Bay’s “Women in Sports Night”, Sergachev was asked to be involved in the ceremonial puck drop before the game started and the crowd absolutely loved seeing him at center ice with former teammate Victor Hedman. The crowd loved seeing the two embrace each other before the start of the game but were ready to get the game started.
Tampa Bay took an early 2-0 lead before the first television timeout where the crowd was treated to a Mikhail Sergachev Homecoming video. Sergachev received a standing ovation and deafening cheers from the home crowd after the video concluded. After the game Sergachev said in his postgame interview, “Thanks for the warm reception. The fans are great, everybody is great…”
A post shared by Alma Lucian Bean (@almabean15)
The Utah Hockey Club suffered their worst loss in franchise history to the Tampa Bay Lighting 8-0, which is tied for the second largest win in Tampa Bay franchise history. Though Tampa Bay asserted their dominance against Utah, Lighting fans were still talking about how proud they are of Sergachev and his accomplishments in Utah.
Long-time Lightning fan Mike Dalsis said he was interested in Utah because of the voting for the name but he wanted to see what type of impact Sergachev would have on the team. Dalsis at the beginning of the season said, “[I was curious] Was he going to be an assistant, [if he] may be a captain one day…I’ll always follow Sergachev.”
Even though the night ended in a loss for Utah, Sergachev can leave Tampa Bay knowing that Bolts Nation will always welcome him back with open arms.
